MOSCOW, November 24 (Sputnik) –Japanese villagers are staying in shelters as tremors continue to rattle a region in central Japan jolted by a weekend earthquake that injured at least 41 people and destroyed more than 50 homes.
The mountainous area that hosted the 1998 winter Olympics was hit worse than initially thought.
The quake affected a relatively unpopulated area, but there are concerns over the preparedness for major quakes in cities like Tokyo. Citing local governments, the Asahi newspaper pointed out that the towns most vulnerable to seismic events are off Japan's eastern coastline and are ill prepared to provide emergency housing. The land for such facilities is in extremely short supply, reports AP.
The hardest-hit area on Saturday appeared to be Hakuba, where at least 43 homes were destroyed and 17 people injured. Another seven homes were lost in Otari, a nearby village to the north. Non-residential buildings were also destroyed; officials continue to assess the extent of the damage.
At least 20 people, including a two year-old child, were pulled from homes collapsed by the magnitude-6.7 earthquake late Saturday night, reports AP.
"Words cannot express my gratitude," Kimito Tsutaki, 73, told national broadcaster NHK after she was pulled from her quilt bedding. Neighbors used a car jack to lift collapsed timbers from on top of her.
There were nearly 80 aftershocks reported by midday Monday, reports AP.
The same area was struck by a magnitude-6.7 earthquake the day after the March 2011 quake and tsunami that destroyed a long stretch of Japan's northeastern coast, killing about 19,000 people.
